49ers aftermath: The meaning of Dre’ Bly, and his Singletary-prodded apology

One of those things I wish I’d thought of while I was writing this column….

It strikes me now that Mike Singletary was clearly bothered by the humiliating 45-10 loss to Atlanta on Sunday, but, as a man of powerful theatrics and symbols, Singletary was even more bothered by something else:

He and his team came off looking like any other easily distracted, unorganized, unfocused team during the rout–from Singletary’s behavior chirping at a Falcons player (which he apologized for after the game) to Bly’s showboating to the general loss of composure all across the roster.

And that is NOT how Singletary wants the 49ers to look, play and most importantly, behave. He wants the 49ers to be tougher and more single-minded than anybody else in the NFL. He wants them to be role models, mostly for each other.

He does not want the 49ers to be wearing the NFL fool’s cap. And he wants it to be witnessed, publicly: His team will win games because of its fortitude, he hopes.

That’s why it was so important, once Singletary saw what Bly had done, for Singletary to get Bly up on the podium Monday, and repeat that he had done wrong and was sorry for it.

The defeat was bad. By 35 points was humbling. But the immature behavior… that was the most embarrassing aspect to SIngletary, and, if repeated, would be a sign that this is a lesser, weaker-minded team that he believes he has.

Bly for a night became the representation of precisely what Singletary thought he’d eliminated: Scattered selfishness. Monday morning was about regaining some of what Singletary wants this team to be and thinks it is.

I wish I’d written that in the column. But I’m writing it now. And here’s what else I wrote…

—the column/

The Dre’ Bly apology epilogue was much better than the original screwball plot a day earlier.

Good stagecraft. Stronger characters. We’ll see if it means anything, and we know it definitely doesn’t mean as much as the 45-10 loss to Atlanta a day earlier.

Oh, well. The 49ers always make it theatrical.

“It was inappropriate,” Bly said Monday of his wild celebration of an interception, which led to an immediate fumble right back to the Falcons.

All of that happened, of course, as the 49ers trailed 35-10, on their way to the worst loss in their Candlestick Park history.

“It was bad timing,” Bly said. “And that’s not what I’m about.”

Monday was about Bly going to Singletary in the morning to apologize, and about Singletary prodding Bly to make his apology public.

And it was about Singletary’s inclination to air out issues before the cameras, make a pronouncement, and then move on.

“Dre’ is going to apologize to probably everybody in the building,” Singletary said.

That’s how he handles this team; that’s how he handled the Bly incident, which Singletary said he didn’t fully see or understand until hours after the game.

One bad public moment in a terrible game. And Singletary was trying to make it a larger lesson amid a long, bumpy journey.

“We are — we’re not trying to — we are building something here,” Singletary said. “Something that will be special. And it is going to be a process.

“But yesterday, that was just something that, as a 49er, that’s just something that we won’t do. I think now he understands that.”

So, a few minutes into Singletary’s weekly news conference, Bly emerged dramatically from a side door and joined his coach on the podium.

This time, Bly did not preen. He didn’t look thrilled to be up there, but he was clearly contrite.

With Singletary standing five feet away, Bly repeatedly admitted that he screwed up on the play and that he magnified the error after the game by fiercely defending his actions.

“I apologize to Coach,” Bly said Monday. “I’m not a selfish guy. I didn’t mean to embarrass him, if I did embarrass him. I embarrassed my team, I embarrassed the ownership and embarrassed the fans.

“I’m a prideful guy. I like to have fun. Man, it was totally inappropriate. I got caught up in the moment. It was wrong.”

After Bly took a few questions and left the stage, Singletary said he will not discipline him.

He said he didn’t see Bly’s “Deion-whatever” grandstanding when it occurred, which is why Singletary didn’t respond as ferociously as he did when he sent tight end Vernon Davis off the field for committing a personal foul in 2008.

Meanwhile, a quick survey of Bly’s teammates Monday made it clear that they didn’t think his showboating was a big deal.

Quarterback Shaun Hill pointed out that Bly’s coming forward Monday was another sign that the locker room is full of players who aren’t afraid to hold themselves accountable.

Bly did add that he tries to have fun and rev up his teammates when he makes a play, and he wasn’t entirely renouncing the flashiness — just that it led to a fumble.

“Fun is when you’re ahead and you may get an interception and, ‘Hey, that’s great.’ That’s fun. But you’re not having fun when you’re behind 35-10, and that’s a little something that he and I have to clean up. Because that’s not fun.”

Then Singletary took all the questions about possible lineup changes and quarterback play and the rest.

A pause. Finally, Singletary had some parting words.

“This team will be a special team,” Singletary said. “This year will be a special year.

“It’s unfortunate as to what happened yesterday. As a staff we did not do a good job preparing for a team in a bye week. But going forward, we will come back and we will get better. And we will be a team for our fans to be proud of. And I thank you very much.”

Better stagecraft. More organized. Strong theme. Doesn’t lessen the impact of a historic loss, but the 49ers in the Age of Singletary will never be boring.